How and Why You Should Start a Gratitude Journal?

Our little sister got married a few weeks back and like a good brother and sister-in-law, we participated in all the preparations, arrangements, and rituals since Indian weddings are a big affair. 

Although small rituals, preparations, and functions started well in advance, there were four main functions that happened over the course of two days, the last of which was the main wedding ceremony. Each function had a different theme and dress code. 

We also gave a dance performance for which we practiced for a few days. I can’t say it was very good, but it was entertaining for sure and that was the main point.

Pooja is a born dancer and has been dancing to Bollywood songs since childhood so she was absolutely amazing. She even gave an impromptu solo performance. 

Every family member and relative, even from the groom’s side praised her for looking so pretty and dancing so well.

I believe just one or two close family members said “Beta, aap kaafi patle ho gaye ho kuch khaya karo”.

For our English-speaking readers, it roughly translates to “My child, you’ve become so slim, you should eat more”. In India, it’s very common for uncles and aunts to make such statements. 

After the wedding was over and everything got back to normal, all Pooja could remember was that people thought I’d lost so much weight and had become so slim.

Initially, she would ask this a couple of times a day, “Have I become too skinny?”, “Do you think I am too skinny?”. 

She’s going to kill me when she edits and publishes this blog. 

The point I’m trying to make is, of all the exciting and interesting things that happened, and of all the compliments she got, her mind got stuck on the thought that people think she’s skinny.

This highlights a very important characteristic of the human mind, its tendency to fixate on the negative while ignoring the positive. 

Our brains are naturally biased towards negative thoughts and there is a term to define this phenomenon, “negativity bias”, which has evolved as a survival mechanism.    

Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors had to be hyper-aware of dangers in their environment to survive. While this was beneficial in the context of avoiding predators or other threats, it’s not that helpful in our modern lives. 

Despite the many good things that happen to us, our minds often latch onto the negative, amplifying it and overshadowing the positive.

On average, each of us has around 60,000 thoughts each day. With so many thoughts constantly streaming through our minds, the negative ones can easily dominate.

This constant dwelling on negativity can lead to stress, anxiety, and a general sense of dissatisfaction, and over time, it can cause mental health problems. 

Imagine that every positive thought is balanced against a negative one but due to the negativity bias, the negative thoughts will feel much heavier, tipping the scale and skewing our perception of reality. 

This skewed perception makes us feel like we are constantly surrounded by problems, even when there are plenty of positive aspects in our lives.

The repercussions of this are very significant as it can lead to chronic stress, lowered self-esteem, and strained relationships.

However, there is a powerful tool that can help counteract this negativity bias and bring about a positive change: gratitude journaling.

Welcome back to our “Journaling” series. The first blog in this series was an introduction to journaling and its benefits, the second blog talked about the different types of journaling, and the third and previous blog was a how-to guide on starting a journaling practice. 

In this fourth blog, we’re going to focus on gratitude journaling and talk about how and why you should start a gratitude journal but first, let’s understand what is a gratitude journal.

What Is a Gratitude Journal?

We live in Delhi NCR, which is a metro area and a no-power cut zone, so we have constant access to electricity unless there is a serious fault or something.

In the recent few days, due to this extremely hot weather, especially in North India, there have been frequent power cuts, even in Delhi NCR. 

Just two days ago, the power cut was so long that our inverter got completely drained and we had to sit in our balcony waiting for power to come back so we could sleep.

It came back around 1:30 in the night and our first words were “Thank God!”.

This small incident made us realize that we’ve taken so many things for granted we get to enjoy in our day-to-day lives. It made us so humble and grateful for the luxuries we have. 

You’ll also find so many things in your surroundings you should be grateful for but often go unnoticed. 

Gratitude journaling is the intentional act of focusing on the positive aspects of your life, no matter how big or small they may be.

It’s a deliberate act of noticing and appreciating the good things that go unnoticed in this fast-paced life.

It is about writing about your day highlighting the moments of joy, kindness, and beauty. 

Why You Should Start a Gratitude Journal

As we initially discussed, our brain is naturally negatively biased. Meaning it has a natural tendency to focus on the negative things while ignoring the positive. 

It may sound very negative at this point but it is an evolutionary trait that helped our ancestors survive.

Because of this, their brains paid more attention to negative things and experiences than positive ones because they often signaled danger or a threat to their survival. 

Now this bias was very important for staying safe in ancient times but it is not so good in today’s time because we are not faced with life-threatening situations that often. 

In today’s world, this negativity bias makes us focus on criticism, worries, and setbacks, basically all the negative things even when we are surrounded by positive experiences and achievements. 

This focus on negative things leads to stress, anxiety, and a generally negative outlook on life which over time has a very negative effect on our mental and emotional well-being.

This is precisely where gratitude journaling comes in as it helps to rewire our brain. When we show gratitude towards the good things in life and write about them daily, we train our minds to look for and appreciate the good things in our lives. 

The medical term for this is neuroplasticity, which is our brain’s ability to reorganize by making new neural connections. This means that we can train our brains to adopt new thought patterns. 

We don’t live in those times anymore where we have to be constantly alert and actively look for dangers around us for survival.

So, we have to proactively dump this trait of our mind, and gratitude journaling is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal to counteract the negativity bias. 

When we practice gratitude journaling consistently, we strengthen the neural pathways linked with positive thinking and weaken the ones linked to negativity bias. That’s why each one of us should start gratitude journaling in today’s times. 

What are The Benefits of Gratitude Journaling for Your Wellbeing?

Once we’re successfully able to rewire our brains to think about positive thoughts and eliminate negative thoughts, its benefits on our mental, emotional, and physical health are immense. 

The most notable benefit as you can guess is on our mental and emotional health because shifting from a negative to a positive mindset will naturally reduce the feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, etc., and will make you feel happy and content. 

Gratitude journaling helps you focus on what you have rather than what you lack, which can reduce feelings of envy, resentment, and frustration.

It promotes a sense of abundance and contentment, which can make it easier to navigate life’s ups and downs with calmness. 

In the process of writing and maintaining a gratitude journal, you’ll understand yourself better and how you react to certain thoughts, feelings, and experiences which will eventually help you process them more efficiently and sustainably. 

We must understand that we only have a very limited view of life, and there are so many external factors at play for things to happen the way they are happening. 

Not every negative experience or event is meant to hurt you or make you feel bad, some of them happen to teach you an important life lesson, some happen so things in the future can be better, and some are just not meant for you but you were accidentally a part of them. 

Writing about them helps you see all this from a distance and get a better understanding of things, why they might be happening, and what can you do to cope with them. In the process, you’ll start noticing the blessings in disguise.

Over time, you’ll be able to identify and start focusing your time and energy on things that truly matter and make you a better version of yourself. That will make you a happier and more successful person in life. 

There are so many other benefits of journaling that we’ve discussed in our introductory blog of this series so if you’re interested, we invite you to read that blog. 

Let’s now take a look at how you can start with a gratitude journal. 

How to Begin a Gratitude Journal?

Hopefully, by now you must have understood how important it is to practice gratitude in your daily life and the main reason behind starting a gratitude journal is so you can make it a habit.

Just thinking about the positive things won’t help you notice and remember them for long, writing them down will. 

So the first step is to choose a method of journaling and the type of journal.

The method could either be using a physical journal or a digital journal, and the type of journal would either be a plain notebook or one that has prompts and is specially designed for gratitude journaling. The choice is yours. 

Once you’ve selected the method and the type of journal you want to go with, the next step is to decide when you want to journal.

Some people prefer it doing in the morning, some like to write while they’re commuting to their work or school, and some prefer doing it right before bed. 

There are no hard and fast rules, you choose when you want to do it at your convenience. 

What Should I Write in My Gratitude Journal?

There are two main things that will help you answer this question. 

1. Be Specific About What You Are Grateful for

The first thing is that you should be very specific about the thing you are grateful for. Just writing “I am very grateful for my husband, wife, or partner” won’t connect you to the emotion that much. You’ll have to be very specific. 

Think about how authors and storytellers create immersive experiences by giving detailed descriptions of a particular scene that help you vividly visualize it in your head. 

Like, instead of saying “She was tired,” they might say “Her eyelids drooped, and her steps grew heavy, as if invisible weights were tied to her ankles. Every muscle in her body ached with exhaustion, and she longed for the cool embrace of her bed.”

You feel like you can actually see that she’s tired. Similarly, be very specific and explain what you’re grateful for in detail. 

For example, instead of just writing “I am very grateful for my husband/partner”, write “I’m grateful for the way my husband listens to me.

Last night, he sat with me for hours, just listening as I talked about my worries and fears. His patience and understanding made me feel valued and understood.”

2. Create a Meaningful and Rich Experience

The next thing you should keep in mind is to create a meaningful and rich experience. Over time, it might start to feel repetitive if you simply write things you’re grateful for without truly connecting to the emotion behind them.

When you ask yourself what you are grateful for, try to wait for the feeling to kick in. Don’t rush the process. Instead, visualize your gratitude and think about why it truly matters to you.

Picture the specific moment or quality you’re grateful for and let yourself feel the emotions associated with it.

For example, instead of quickly writing, “I’m grateful for my supportive friend,” take a moment to remember a specific moment when your friend supported you and what it meant to you. 

Visualize that situation, remember the emotions you felt, and then write: “I’m grateful for my friend who stayed on the phone with me for hours last night, made me feel comfortable, and gave advice when I felt completely lost. Her understanding and patience made me feel heard and valued.”

These are two main things you should keep in mind while writing your gratitude journal. 

How to Maintain a Gratitude Journal or Fit Gratitude Journaling Into Your Life?

If I were to ask you, what do you do before you go to sleep? For so many of us, the answer would be scrolling through social media or doing something else on our phones. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst things we can do to our bodies. 

We’ve discussed in detail in this blog the factors that impact our sleep habits and the circadian rhythm that governs when to sleep and wake up, and using our mobile phones right before bed completely disturbs that rhythm which leads to poor sleep quality.

As a result, we wake up feeling not so good. Research shows that our cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone, are highest in the morning. 

Considering all this, mornings seem to be the best time for gratitude journaling because starting each day with gratitude will give a burst of good feelings and set a positive tone for the day. 

So, as we’ve mentioned before in the previous blogs, both of us journal in the morning. We’ve designed our own digital planner and tracker that has a dedicated space for expressing gratitude each day.

This way we don’t have to maintain a separate gratitude journal. 

Both of us are working professionals with 9-5 jobs so the planner page helps us plan our day and just dump everything we have in mind onto that page.

We can’t explain how cathartic that process is, you’ll have to try it yourself to experience it. 

But this is just our personal preference, you can choose whatever time works for you and stick to that schedule and you can decide whether you want to go for a digital journal or a physical one. 

The benefit of a digital journal is that you don’t have to carry it around everywhere along with all the different color pens and stuff, plus it’s eco-friendly.

But nothing beats the feeling of writing on paper so you can decide what you like best. 

If it’s becoming too overwhelming in the beginning and if you’re having trouble thinking about what to write, you can use prompts to get started. 

We’ll write one of our upcoming blogs on the journal prompts you can use in your gratitude journal. 

So, maintaining a journal and fitting it into your everyday life is a gradual process that requires you to be patient and committed. Start small and be consistent so you can make it a sustainable habit that has lasting benefits on your mental and emotional health. 

What Is the Structure of a Gratitude Journal?

While researching this topic, one of the most commonly asked questions we found on Google was about the structure of a gratitude journal. 

Hopefully, by now you would have understood that there the structure of a gratitude journal is not set in stone. It can have as many variations as there are people who practice gratitude journaling. 

Some people like to journal daily while others like to do it weekly. We feel that it is more beneficial if done daily but again, it’s totally up to you. 

You can write free flow, use gratitude prompts, or reflective questions, whatever works for you. You can tailor your gratitude journaling habit to fit your lifestyle and preferences. 

Wrapping Up – Starting a Gratitude Journal for a Meaningful and Fulfilling Life

Gratitude journaling is one of the most powerful but underrated tools we have in today’s world for fighting mental health problems.

It helps us counteract the negativity bias that is no longer needed today. It can transform our mindset to focus on the positive things   

It is a tool that encourages us to practice self-care and become a better version of ourselves. By practicing gratitude journaling, we’re making a conscious decision to prioritize positivity in our lives. It doesn’t require much time or effort but its benefits are immense.

The key to successful gratitude journaling is consistency and sincerity. It’s about making a habit of noticing and appreciating the good things, no matter how small they may seem. 

Some days, you’ll be able to write about so many things you’re grateful for, while on other days, you might struggle to find even one. That’s okay.

The important thing is to keep going, to keep writing, and to keep acknowledging the positive moments in your life.

Be kind to yourself. There will be days when you miss an entry or don’t feel like writing, and that’s perfectly fine. What matters is that you come back to it and continue nurturing this habit. 

We hope this blog has provided you with the knowledge and motivation to start your own gratitude journal. The world can be a challenging place, but by focusing on gratitude, you can create a more positive and fulfilling life for yourself.

We wish you all the best on your journaling journey and look forward to hearing about your experiences. 

Feel free to share your thoughts and stories in the comments section below. Namaste!